The Cherry Grove aquarium was one of those places where, even though Floyd worked there, he often found himself visiting on his day off. It provided a much better sanctuary to him than his own home, and even spending time at the docks was proving to be more difficult since he could only sit there for so long, with the wind whipping off his reddening cheeks, before he called it quits and retreated to much warmer indoor places. He didn’t have to worry about the temperature in the aquarium, so when Rory had text him and asked that he meet her after her own shift was finished, he hadn’t hesitated to reply that he would love to.
Making his way downstairs and simultaneously struggling with the task of pushing his arms into the sleeves of his jacket as he did so, Floyd took great care to keep quiet. He could hear Dave snoring from the living room, feet propped up on the automan and a can of beer in his hand while he snoozed. His stepfather must have dozed off during one of the football games as their TV was blinking with the picture of the after-game commentary that never helped Floyd understand the sport any better. Not wanting to wake Dave, Floyd opted to go out the back door instead, closing it quietly then fetching his bike from the garage and setting off for the aquarium.
Arriving at the building just as the last guests of the day were filtering out, he chained his bike up outside. Anna had warned him to do so seeing as there were a few belongings around Cherry Grove getting pinched on every odd day. He’d remained quiet about his own suspicions regarding the rise in theft, simply out of respect for his weird but oddly satisfying friendship with Flynn. He wouldn’t rat the boy out, not just because Floyd was a sucker for brown eyes, but because he liked to think Flynn was on some sort of path to redemption.
Finding himself in the same corridors that he traipsed through on a daily basis, Floyd pushed himself onto his tiptoes in order to catch a glimpse of Rory. He was so busy searching one end of the corridor that he didn’t bother checking the other and regretted that lapse of judgment when a weight slammed into him from behind and he was immersed in darkness.
“Wha- what?” he gasped, swivelling around, all too aware that someone was clinging onto him with all of their limbs wrapped around his frame. He was on the verge of panicking when a familiar, if slightly distorted, voice reached his ears. At once, he wilted in relief and shook his head.
“Roryyyy,” he whined as she clambered off him. Embarrassed by his overreaction, he rubbed the back of his neck and glanced sheepishly at his best friend.
“Don’t do that again,” he mumbled, even though he knew she would and that Floyd still wouldn’t have the heart to scold her when she did. He really liked Rory, even if her outgoing nature had presented itself to him as somewhat alarming when they’d first met. But ever since he had adjusted to the other girl’s loud, bubbly and oddly forgetful personality, he’d spent months on end traversing rock pools and sea lion tanks with her. Now he was calling her one of his closest friends, proven by the way he had readily agreed to meet her after hours.
As soon as he watched Misty leave with a small wave in the other girl’s direction, he was palpably aware of the fact that only he and Rory were the only ones left in the aquarium. Even though he knew they weren’t doing anything wrong, Floyd’s willingness to constantly pander to authority left him feeling like he was trespassing somewhere he shouldn’t be. It was like roaming school hallways after all the teachers went home but he forced himself to relax, even though the brief feeling of serenity that he had stubbornly pulled over himself was washed away by Rory’s words.
“Okay…” he said slowly, unable to hide his wince. “Rory, your ideas kinda scare me sometimes, you know.”
At least this one wouldn’t involve cliff diving as there we no cliffs or Andies in the aquarium at that moment in time, so Floyd offered his friend a soft smile. “But alright, what did you have in mind?”
Rory flushed, her cheeks reddening profusely as she stared back at Floyd. Rory had always been a particularly excitable person, jumping head first into situations without even a moment's thought – though, admittedly, even when she did think things through, she could scarcely recall a single thought in the next moment! More often than not she'd startled the boy before her, jumping full force out at him fro behind a fish tank, or one of the lockers at the pool. Floyd had a much more fragile disposition than she did but, if Rory were being completely honest, she sometimes forgot just how jittery he could be! Besides, Rory was just an overly affectionate person, and Floyd just so happened to be her favourite person in the whole entire universe, and she really liked popping up and surprising him, giving him cuddles, and kissing his cheek. Even if sometimes she had to be reminded to tone it down a notch.
“I'm sorry!” she cried, her mouth twisting at the corner, her nose scrunching in a cringe. She knew she'd gone bright red, but she didn't mind. Lots of cool things were red! Plus,if he had to look stupid then she kinda deserved it for scaring the best boy in the whole world.
She didn't make any promises after he asked her not to do it again, instead shying away nervously and avoiding eye contact. The both of them knew fine well that her eagerness wouldn't crash to a sudden halt just now, and that sooner or later she'd be wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into an unwanted embrace. She really did try though. She'd learned so much since becoming friends with Floyd! There had been, like, a million and one mistakes that she'd made during the infancy of their friendship, but overtime she'd learned to adjust to the other boy and the things that made him jump and quiver, so maybe it was just a matter of time before she got it just right. Not today, though, and she scolded herself inwardly for being such a freakin' goof.
Slowly, she leaned in towards the other boy, her motions gentle and careful, giving him enough time to pull away should he need to, and enough notice so as not to be surprised. Though Floyd was only small in stature, he still had a few inches on her, and so she wobbled on her tippy-toes before pressing a quick, fleeting kiss to the other boy's cheek. Rocking backwards and back onto the balls of her feet, she shrugged, before pulling the focus away from him and onto the matter at hand (she didn't want to embarrass him more! Floyd didn't like being centre of attention).
She watched with wonder as he questioned her motives, noting the look of apprehension that washed over his features. It wasn't entirely out there for him to be concerned. Floyd was a worrier, and Rory was... uh, not. Even when she should be, actually. Usually she just sort of... forgot that there were things to worry about? But Floyd made up for it in heaps. Though, in his defence, most people kind of... panicked whenever they heard that Rory had a plan. Once, Marlon had told her that she should focus less on her whacky plans, and more on showing up on a time. Another time he'd told her that she reminded him of that one Phoebe quote from friends where she was all 'I don't even have a pla-', but that had only made her giggle because she loved Phoebe!
“Weeeeeeeeeeelllllllll,” Rory started, spinning away from him in all her excitement. Twirling on the spot, she started dancing along the corridor, leading him further into the dimly lit Aquarium, which was now theirs for the taking. Well, not taking. She wasn't going to take anything. But it was empty, and they could do anything they liked!
Not wanting to drum up the anticipation too much – she knew how anxious that might make an already uncertain Floyd – she spun around and faced him once more, having ventured a few feet away from the boy in question.
“JELLYFISH!” she called out, grinning from ear to ear. She knew that her words didn't really count as an explanation, because standing in an aquarium and yelling about aqua-life wasn't particularly informative, but it was a start.
Bobbing up and down on the spot, hopping from foot to foot in pure, delirious exhilaration, she wiggled her eyebrows at Floyd, before breaking the super exciting news!
“We're going to go swim with the jellyfish!” she told him, her cheeks practically aching from all the smiling she was doing.